Libya’s Neighbors Call For Militants’ Disarmament

CAIRO, Aug 25 (Aswat Masriya) – Libya’s neighbours called on Monday for the “gradual” disarmament of warring militants in the North African country, with regional sponsorship and international support.

Libya’s neighboring countries demand militants’ disarmament

Cairo hosted the Fourth Ministerial Meeting for the Neighboring Countries of Libya, where the foreign ministers of Egypt, Libya, Tunisa, Algeria and Sudan discussed the latest wave of unrest in the country.

The meeting parties called for immediately halting armed operations and strengthening dialogue among different political factions to achieve national reconciliation. They urged foreign parties to refrain from exporting arms to any “illegitimate” factions within Libya.

The meeting also concluded with calling for combating terrorism within the North African country.

Militant fighting in Libya has recently intensified in measures unprecedented since the overthrow of late Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Army general Khalifa Haftar declared war on Islamist forces within Libya since May.

Libya blames Egypt and UAE for airstrikes

Forces in the Libyan City of Misrata blamed Egypt and the United Arab Emirates for airstrikes which targeted the Libyan capital on Saturday.

In a meeting with newspapers’ chief editors on Sunday, Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denied that Egypt has conducted any military operations outside its borders “as of yet,” reported state-run news agency MENA.

The foreign ministry strongly condemned on Monday “the trial to involve Egypt in Libya’s internal affairs,” stressing the importance of protecting the unity of the Libyan territories and their regional security.

In an interview with Reuters in May, Sisi referred to Libya as a “security threat” Egypt faces, especially in regards to combating terrorism.

A fifth meeting for Libya’s neighbours is scheduled to be held in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. However, the date for it is yet to be announced.

Author: Aswat MasriyaAswat Masriya English is the sister site of Aswat Masriya, which provides news and information about the general scene in Egypt.
The websites are part of a Thomson Reuters Foundation initiative to enhance democracy through strengthening the media in Egypt. Along with a programme of training courses for journalists, it is hoped that the sites will promote democracy in Egypt by providing independent, balanced and accurate news and information to journalists and the public in this critical phase in Egypt’s history.
Aswat Masriya has set content partnership agreements with prominent Egyptian media institutions like Al-Ahram newspaper and Al-Shorouk Newspaper.